which expression is equivalent to 5a+8-2(a+4)?

What are your choices?

5 a+b

To simplify the expression 5a + 8 - 2(a + 4), we need to apply the distributive property and combine like terms.

Step 1: Distribute the -2 to each term inside the parentheses:
5a + 8 - 2(a + 4)
= 5a + 8 - 2a - 8

Step 2: Combine like terms:
(5a - 2a) + (8 - 8)
= 3a + 0
= 3a

So, the expression 5a + 8 - 2(a + 4) is equivalent to 3a.